Knee-Jerk Reactions After the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game

The nation's top college basketball prospects once again convened under the statue of Michael Jordan in Chicago for the McDonald's All-American Game on Wednesday, as the West topped the East, 114-107.

For the uninitiated, this is a cross between a high school all-star game and a coming-out party of sorts for next year's super freshmen.

Think of a famous American basketball player, and there's an extremely good chance said player went through this game. So it's no surprise that every recruit was working hard (on offense, anyway) to put his stamp on the action.

Who rose above the rest? Who fell short of expectations? Which teams seem poised to rake in the recruiting riches as the national championship and offseason loom?

Here's a series of knee-jerk reactions from the game.

Duke Haters Should Hang Their Heads

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Jayson Tatum

Were you among the gleeful hordes who celebrated when Duke lost to Oregon after merely managing a berth in the Sweet 16?

You can stop celebrating now.

Two of the top three recruits in this class, according to ESPN—forward Harry Giles and guard Jayson Tatum—are both headed to Durham, North Carolina, next season. Ditto for No. 14 overall recruit Frank Jackson.

Sadly, a torn ACL forced Giles to the sidelines of this one, but Tatum and Jackson picked up the slack. All Jackson did, according to the game's official box score, was hit five threes en route to 19 points and a co-MVP nod. Tatum led all scorers on the East team with 18.

So, yes. The Blue Devils will reload, in case there was any doubt.

Whoever Lands Josh Jackson Is Indeed Getting Someone Good

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No. 1 overall recruit Josh Jackson has it narrowed down to his final 10 potential destinations, per ESPN.com. If his play Wednesday is any indication, that is one heck of a nail-biting sweepstakes for those schools.

Jackson did a little bit of everything, with 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and two turnovers. The effort earned him co-MVP honors for the game. The wing looked taller than his listed 6'7" height as he threw down a series of dunks and did something positive with the ball basically every time he got it. He even hit a three-pointer for good measure.

He's going to be a turbo boost for whichever program is lucky enough to land him.

Lonzo Ball Can See the Matrix

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After leading the West team to the win and that co-MVP honor, Josh Jackson got a postgame interview on ESPN.

And what did he say?

"Credit to Lonzo Ball," he said. "UCLA got a heck of a player."

Considering Jackson had about 30 seconds of air time, it was a generous gesture. But it's a testament to how good Ball was on Wednesday.

The future Bruin and top point guard in this class justified that label Wednesday when he dazzled the crowd with a series of no-look, seeing-eye assists.

Actually, "series" might be an understatement. The California native recorded 13 assists during the game, tying the showcase's record Jacque Vaughn set back in 1993.

Looks like he's all set for Los Angeles.

Some of the Bluest Blood Gets Bluer

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Frank Jackson

Of the top 10 recruits, five are locked into a historically prestigious school. Duke, Kentucky and UCLA, to be precise. 

The players headed to these programs dominated this game's box score, too. Frank Jackson and Jayson Tatum each led his respective team in scoring. Jackson also won the event's earlier dunk contest, so he might have had the best experience among all players.

Incoming Kentucky Wildcats Bam Adebayo, De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk combined for 29 points—Adebayo was the standout, notching 16 points and 12 rebounds. Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf (six points on 3-of-6 shooting and nine rebounds) will be an interesting combo at UCLA. 

Duke and Kentucky are reloading, while UCLA is hoping to return to glory. In all cases, it looks like they'll have the building blocks to do so next season.

There Was Actually Some Defense!

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Miles Bridges (left) plays defense at the rim.

Fifteen blocks and 22 steals between the teams is not bad, and some players appeared dedicated to showing they could do it on both ends of the floor.

Elite Washington Huskies recruit Markelle Fultz led all players with three steals. Center and undecided recruit Jarrett Allen didn't hurt his stock by throwing up five blocks beside a relatively quiet nine points and six rebounds.

And, to the surprise of precisely no one, a Michigan State recruit played some solid D, too. In this case, it was guard Miles Bridges.

This will never be a defensive showcase, but there was plenty of effort in each direction.

Marques Bolden Is a Force

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USA Today's Jason Jordan observed on Twitter that "Marques Bolden is quietly dominating ALL bigs."

The undecided big man—ranked as the No. 20 overall recruit and No. 2 center in the class—put up an efficient 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, seven rebounds and two steals to zero turnovers.

Bolden is one of the few undecided players who took part in Wednesday's game, and whichever team lands him will be getting a major boost to its frontcourt. 

Recruit rankings and information provided by 247Sports unless otherwise noted.